IntelliStick Award – Heavy Duty Trucking

For the second year, IntelliStick has been recognized as one of Heavy Duty Trucking’s Top 50. IntelliStick was honored by a panel of industry publication editors as one of 50 innovative products “…likely to contribute to operational efficiencies, such as increased safety, improved truck fuel economy…and contribute to the bottom line of a for-hire or […]

Motor oil — fuel economy vs. wear

If you were told you could increase your fuel economy just by switching to a thinner oil, would you do it? We bet a fair number of people (especially those who aren’t mechanically inclined) would. Your fuel economy increases, you help the environment, you pay less (or at least less frequently) at the pump. It’s […]

synthetic vs conventional oil

We are often asked — what is the best oil to us? That’s kind of like asking what’s the best flavor of ice cream. You ask 10 different people and you’d probably get 10 different answers. (For the record, our personal favorite is mint chocolate chip.) With motor oil, 10 different cars may each have […]

GM ditches the 3,000 mile oil change…

… something that IntelliStick did two years ago. This American car maker may be in trouble, but GM does have at least one thing right. As part of their corporate responsibility “environmental commitment” GM posted this story on their web site about how 3,000 miles isn’t always the best time to change your oil. GM […]

condition-based maintenance at UPS

UPS Freight has joined the growing list of companies that are focusing on condition-based maintenance. According to a recent Transportation Topics article, UPS Freight’s telematics systems “will be upgraded with proprietary firmware and an internally developed algorithm” that will help them better manage their trucks and analyze potential problems. UPS made the move to cut […]

the “real world” of maintenance

We got a chuckle from this list of 34 Signs You’re Living in the Real World of Maintenance from Reliable Plant. Among our favorites … We have a couple of machines that vacationed in Hawaii on frequent flier miles built up on parts air-shipped in for them. We discussed whether it was possible that a […]

squeezing every last drop

We’re excited by all developments in hybrid/electric/alternative fuel vehicles. What’s good for the planet is good for all of us. Hopefully the time will soon come when these cars are a viable, economic alternative. We got one step closer this week as the Ford Fusion was driven 1,445 miles on a single tank! We were […]

Is that a typo?

Our faithful blog readers know that IntelliStick is on the 3,000 Mile myth bandwagon. With the data we get back from our IntelliStick we can see that it isn’t necessary to change your oil every 3,000 miles. We know it, the state of California knows it, and more and more drivers are catching on, too. […]

the $10 million oil change

When we first saw this Wall Street Journal article about a Nascar team spending $10 million to develop a new oil for it’s cars, our first thought was “whoa, that’s a lot of money.” Then we saw that they’re claiming it gives them an extra 10 horsepower (which might not sound like much, but these […]

Predictive maintenance at Harley Davidson

“The Harley-Davidson image is the antithesis of predictable. No schedules. No plans. No boundaries. No cares. The unknown lies around the bend. Just strap on the helmet, fire up the engine and ride…. The Harley-Davidson manufacturing image, however, is all about predictability. No surprises. No bottlenecks. No breakdowns. No downtime. What lies ahead is known. […]